Soccer-Vlaar fit again for Dutch qualifier

AMSTERDAM, June 9 (Reuters) - Fit-again defender Ron Vlaar will be available for Netherlands' key EURO 2016 qualifier against Latvia in Riga on Friday, team officials said on Tuesday. Vlaar trained with the Dutch team on Monday and showed no signs of any discomfort from a knee injury that kept him out of Friday's friendly loss to the United States in Amsterdam. His progress has been keenly followed in the wake of the 4-3 loss to the Americans which exposed deficiencies in the Dutch defence. Vlaar is expected to start in centre defence alongside Stefan de Vrij, who also did not play in last week's friendly. "I have had a complete session and it went well. I feel fine," Vlaar told reporters. "We want to put a line behind the loss to the Americans and turn our focus fully to the match against Latvia, where he have to win." The Dutch, who reached the semifinals of last year's World Cup in Brazil, are third in Group A, with seven points from five matches. The Czech Republic lead with 13 points, one more than Iceland. The top two finishers in each group qualify for France next year. The best third place finisher from the nine groups also qualifies while the other third place finishers play off for the remaining four slots at the finals. (Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)